Underwater is a January 2020 sci-fi, action-packed horror movie that stars Kristin Stewart. This was the last film 20th Century Fox ever released, as the company was bought out by Disney and had its name changed to 20th Century Studios. The negative reviews of this film came in quickly, but that was before people really knew what the story was about. Perhaps it didn't get the marketing it deserved due to Disney's lack of promoting the film during the studio's change in ownership, as it only managed to make about $41 million on a $50-$80 million budget. But Underwater is gaining a bit of a following thanks to its mythology and star power.
The story follows a group of workers aboard Kepler 822—an underwater drilling site at the bottom of the Mariana Trench (the deepest oceanic trench on Earth). They work for a company known as Tian Industries, and the cast is led by Kristin Stewart, who plays Norah Price. The company's underwater facilities look more like spaceships and add an aesthetically pleasing look to the world. When their facility gets hit by a mysterious earthquake and destroyed, they must race to find a way to safety. Captain Lucien decides the group's best chance of survival is to use the pressurized suits to walk one mile across the ocean floor to reach the nearest facility and ascend to the surface of Earth. But on the group's way there, they are attacked by several humanoid creatures, and all but three of the workers die.
Upon reaching Roebuck 641 (the nearby facility), Norah discovers there are only two working escape pods even though there are three surviving workers. She sacrifices herself for her friends, and allows Haversham and Smith to use the pods. Suddenly, a giant sea monster emerges from beneath the ocean floor and attacks Roebuck, while the other smaller creatures from before chase after the pods that are currently ascending to the surface. It's not stated directly, but it is implied that the earthquake was caused by the Titan beast stirring in its slumber. After Norah realizes she will die, she accepts her fate and initiates a massive explosion that she hopes will kill the Titan and the mermaid-like creatures.
Some of the lore behind the story is shown through the opening and ending credits. Through images of newspaper articles, the audience finds out the year is 2050, and there are some shady business practices taking place. There have been rumors of "strange sightings" at the drilling sites, and the company is dismissing all allegations and questions. Underwater is taking place during mankind's deepest drill exploration in search of materials. Resources are scarce in the year 2050, a fate the world may face one day, adding to the terror. Tian Industries refuses to let the construction get shut down. Following the final act, we learn that the company won't allow the film's events to be investigated, and even is beginning to prepare for an expansion in their drilling efforts.
But what were the small humanoid creatures that resembled mermaids, and were they connected to the giant Titan monster? Director William Eubank confirmed that the giant monster at the end of Underwater was indeed Cthulhu. Cthulhu, in Lovecraftian mythology, is a Great Old One who resides beneath the ocean in a death-like sleep. He is a Titan god with a tentacled head and a massive form. Perhaps the writers Brian Duffield and Adam Cozad called the research company Tian Industries so that 'Tian' would be a small clue that the beast at the end of Underwater was a Titan. The smaller creatures are believed to be the Deep Ones—also of Lovecraftian mythology.
During Tian Industries' exploration, they drilled into something until they hit a temporal pocket at the bottom of the ocean. This unleashed the Deep Ones and awoke Cthulhu, both of which resided within the pocket. In Lovecraftian mythology, the Deep Ones are fish-like creatures who are of an ocean-dwelling race. The creatures have an affinity for humans, and often mate with them to produce the human-fish hybrids seen in the movie. The Deep Ones serve and worship the beings known as Father Dagon and his female companion Mother Hydra, and therefore Cthulhu—a Titan so large that his deep slumber is not easily woken.
Underwater opens up the possibility of a whole new wave of horror movies inspired by H. P. Lovecraft tales. Drilling into the Mariana Trench and opening up a world of grotesque creatures sets up a sequel nicely, especially if Tian Industries decides to continue drilling into the unknown. It makes one wonder what else will mankind awaken. Could this be the start of a new franchise, or give inspiration to other filmmakers to create more movies inspired by Lovecraft? It's possible Kristen Stewart's character wasn't able to kill Cthulhu, or that this was just the first of many alien-like monsters to emerge from the trench.